Hawker Seeks Exclusive Negotiations With Superior Aviation

July 11 (Bloomberg) -- Hawker Beechcraft Inc., the bankrupt
business-jet maker owned by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Onex
Corp., asked for court permission to allow it to exclusively
negotiate for as long as 45 days with Superior Aviation Beijing
Co.

The proposed exclusivity agreement will allow Hawker to
“attempt to negotiate a binding stalking-horse plan sponsorship
agreement,” according to court papers. “In exchange, Superior
will pay the debtors up to $50 million to fund and maintain
certain product lines that the debtors will likely discontinue
but for Superior’s interest in acquiring them,” the company
said in court papers.

The jetmaker agreed to sell itself to Superior for $1.79
billion. Superior will make payments over the next six weeks to
help keep Hawker afloat until the deal closes, the companies
said July 9. The accord makes Superior the so-called stalking-horse bidder in a U.S. Bankruptcy Court-supervised auction that
may win more offers.

Hawker Beechcraft sought bankruptcy protection in May after
struggling with lower demand for private jets following the
recession and constrained U.S. defense spending. The
planemaker’s debt included a term loan and notes used for the
portion of its $3.3 billion takeover in 2007 that wasn’t covered
by $1 billion cash from buyers Goldman Sachs and Onex.

The case is In re Hawker Beechcraft Inc., 12-11873, U.S.
Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).